Aardvark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Aardvark Conservation status: Lower risk | ||||||||||||||
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Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
Orycteropus afer Pallas, 1766 |
The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa The name comes from the Afrikaans for "earth pig" (aarde earth, vark pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig (although Aardvarks are not closely related to pigs).
The Aardvark is the only surviving member of the family Orycteropodidae and of the order Tubulidentata. Aardvarks bear a striking first-glance resemblance to the marsupial bilbies and bandicoots of Australasia, which are not placental mammals at all.)
The most distinctive characteristic of the Tubulidentata is (as the name implies) their teeth. The teeth have no enamel coating and are worn away and regrow continuously. Aardvarks are born with conventional incisors and canines at the front of the jaw, but these fall out and are not replaced. In adult Aardvarks, the only teeth are the molars at the back of the jaw.
Aardvarks are only vaguely pig-like; the body is stout with an arched back; the limbs are of moderate length. The front feet have lost the pollex (or 'thumb')—resulting in four toes—but the rear feet have all five toes. The ears are disproportionately long and the tail very thick at the base with a gradual taper. The greatly elongated head is set on a short thick neck, and at the end of the snout is a disk in which the nostrils open. The mouth is typical of species that feed on termites: small and tubular. Aardvarks have long, thin, protrusible tongues and elaborate structures supporting a keen sense of smell.
Weight is typically between 40 and 65kg; length is usually between 1 and 1.3m. Aardvarks are a pale yellowish gray in color, often stained reddish-brown by soil. The coat is thin and the animal's primary protection is its tough skin.
Aardvarks are nocturnal and solitary creatures that feed almost exclusively on ants and termites. An Aardvark emerges from its burrow in the late afternoon or shortly after sunset, and forages over a considerable home range, swinging its long nose from side to side to pick up the scent of food. When a concentration of ants or termites is found, the Aardvark digs into it with its powerful front legs, keeping its long ears upright to listen for predators, and takes up an astonishing number of insects with its long, sticky tongue—as many as 50,000 in one night has been recorded. They are exceptionally fast diggers, but otherwise move rather slowly.
Aardvark is always the first noun in the English Dictionary.